Privacy policy

Effective date

This policy is effective from 15 October 2026.

This policy covers the AskOnce Windows app, with its plugins and helper.

Who is responsible

AskOnce is provided by Parth Chilwerwar. Contact: support@askonce.xyz.

The short version

The AskOnce app has no AskOnce server, no account and no telemetry. We don’t receive your projects, sessions or briefs.

Everything the app captures stays on your computer, in %APPDATA%\AskOnce.

A brief leaves your computer only as part of your own Claude Code or Codex session, and then that tool’s provider handles it.

What the app stores on your computer

In %APPDATA%\AskOnce:

A local database (askonce.sqlite): the project folders you add, whether sharing is on for each, and what was captured from your sessions. That includes the agent’s final message, files changed, commands run, test results, recent asks, next steps, open questions and decisions, short source excerpts, and an activity record of every capture and every brief given to a session, copied or printed by a command, with the exact brief text.

Connection details for the plugins (plugin-engine.json): a local port and a random token that changes each time the app starts. Only your Windows user can read it.

A small helper log (helper.log): timestamps, fixed result codes and the fixed names of the tool and event. No session text, paths or tokens.

Backups of plugin settings taken before AskOnce changes its own entries in a tool’s plugin configuration.

App settings and window position, including your Start with Windows choice.

If you use Build and verify from the AskOnce command line: task records and isolated working copies.

An Anthropic API key, only if an earlier version of AskOnce saved one, encrypted with Windows data protection. This version can’t add one; Build and verify in the AskOnce command line still uses an existing one when it needs it. Delete credentials\claude-code.bin to remove it.

AskOnce also adds a Windows startup entry so the installed app starts in the tray when you sign in. It is on by default; turn Start with Windows off in Settings to remove it.

What the app reads

What the Claude Code or Codex plugin sends at the end of each turn (the session ID, folder, transcript location and the agent’s final message), and the session transcript, so AskOnce can extract the facts listed above. Turns that look like they contain secrets are left out. If AskOnce can’t read a transcript, it keeps only the final message.

Each tool’s plugin settings, to show and change only AskOnce’s own entries.

When you send a message in a chat, the plugin tells the app which session and folder it is in, so an open chat can get the other tool’s newer work. The text of your message is removed by the plugin and never reaches the app.

AskOnce does not check or change your sign-in in either tool, and never reads, stores or sends your Claude Code or Codex credentials.

AskOnce never writes captured text into AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md or other instruction files.

When data leaves your computer

Briefs. If sharing is on for a project, AskOnce gives a new chat in one tool (or a chat after /clear) a short reference brief of your work in the other tool, and gives a chat that is already open the other tool’s newer work once, with your next message. A brief is up to about 1,500 estimated tokens, scanned for secrets first. The same brief is printed when you run /askonce:brief (or ask the Codex AskOnce skill for it), and /askonce:status prints its first lines. The brief becomes part of that Claude Code or Codex session, and the tool sends it to its provider (Anthropic or OpenAI) along with the rest of the session. That provider processes it under your account and its own terms and privacy policy. Sharing is off for every project until you preview it and confirm.

Build and verify (optional, command line only). The desktop app does not offer it; the AskOnce command-line tool installed with the app still does. When you approve a task there, the approved context is sent to OpenAI through your Codex sign-in. With a connection created by an earlier version, it can also be sent to Anthropic using an API key saved by that version.

This website. askonce.xyz uses Vercel Web Analytics to count page visits. It sets no cookies and does not identify you. The app itself sends nothing.

Your own actions. If you copy a brief and paste it somewhere, it goes wherever you paste it.

The plugins and helper talk only to the AskOnce app on your computer (127.0.0.1). The app does not send analytics, telemetry or crash reports, and does not check for updates. It opens this Privacy Policy or the Terms on askonce.xyz in your browser only when you choose them in Settings.

How long the app keeps data, and how to delete it

AskOnce keeps captured data until you delete it. To stop and remove everything:

1. Turn sharing off for each project.

2. Remove the plugins in AskOnce’s Tools screen.

3. Uninstall AskOnce in Windows Settings → Apps. The uninstaller removes the startup entry, and keeps your data folder on purpose.

4. Quit AskOnce, then delete %APPDATA%\AskOnce.

Briefs that already went into a Claude Code or Codex session are held by that tool and its provider. We can’t delete them; see their privacy terms.

Security

The plugin connection uses a per-start token in a file only your Windows user can read, and only listens on 127.0.0.1. The secret scan matches common patterns but can’t catch every secret. Other programs running as your Windows user can read your AskOnce data, so keep your Windows account secure.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete or object to processing of personal data. The app holds none on our side: your data is on your computer and you control it. For any request, contact support@askonce.xyz.

Children

AskOnce is a developer tool and is not directed at children. You must be old enough to agree to these terms where you live.

Changes

We will update the date at the top when this policy changes, and give notice on this website for material changes.

Contact

Parth Chilwerwar, support@askonce.xyz.